Do you always get heartburn after dinner? Some tips here!
One of my least favorite pregnancy symptoms was heartburn - no matter what I ate, I seemed to end the day burping fire.
“Why is this happening???” I would ask.
Here’s why:
Check out this visual from the Museum from Science and Industry/ head to their website to watch it over and over again, like I’m doing! http://msichicago.org/makeroom.
It’s amazing to see here how much internal rearrangement is happening! Specifically, what is affecting our experience here is the pushing upward of the stomach and intestines. (As well as the relaxation of the esophageal sphincter caused by - our friends: hormones!)
So our space is compromised! As an Alexander Technique teacher, what I’m very curious about is how can we use and move the body to make the most of the space we have. What choices do we have available to us here?
Doctors recommend either positions that work with gravity (so the stomach acid is less likely to flow upward) and against those that compress the stomach. This makes complete sense to me - from an Alexander Technique perspective, putting some “up” into our bodies, rather than compressing and collapsing, always benefits our whole system.
So with that in mind, here are some suggestions.
After Meals: choose an upright position!
While I’m a big fan of lying down, it’s not best to do so immediately after a meal. Sad, but true!
A walk after dinner is more helpful for digestion, and may boost your energy as well.
If you really need to rest, I suggest using the support of a chair - so you can be in a relaxed state, but not compressing your stomach.
Collapsing down like this may compress your digestion:
That’s better! (More on comfortable sitting here.)
During the Day: take pressure off!
Positions which bring the whole body into alignment will take compression off of the digestive organs, leaving more room for them to do their work.
Try a gentle back stretch:
I love this position in pregnancy because it allows me to align my spine head-to-tail. It also relieves pressure on the belly. And it’s upright, to avoid exacerbating heartburn.
Try rocking forward and backward in this position or doing gentle circles.
Bending from the waist puts pressure on the stomach. Bend from the hip joint instead!
Tight clothing doesn’t help the situation. Consider if your clothing is giving you less space.
When you’re sharing space, every little bit counts. I hope that you can use these tools to find some space for yourself.
If you’re having trouble putting some of these things into practice - or finding the rearrangement of your internal organs generally disorienting - that’s where having an Alexander teacher to give you hands-on help can be beneficial. I went “back to school” for some help when I was pregnant - and I was always amazed at how my teacher would help me to find just a little more space.
Again, an important reminder to communicate with your care providers if you’re experiencing a lot of heartburn - they may have further advice on treatment or how heartburn might be a part of your overall health picture.